INVERNESS saw off Stranraer in their Scottish Cup fifth round replay at a rain drenched Caledonian Stadium to book an all-Premiership quarter-final tie with Dundee United.

NICK ROSS and Aaron Doran buried John
Hughes’s home hoodoo deep in the mud to keep Inverness on course for a glorious cup double.

The midfielder’s freak opener and the
sub’s final-minute clincher were enough to give boss Yogi a first win at the Caledonian Stadium since taking over from Terry Butcher and edge his team through to a last-eight tie against Dundee United.

Victory on a dreadful pitch maintained
the Highlanders’ hopes of adding to their League Cup Final spot with another big day out at Celtic Park for the Scottish Cup showpiece.

However, the result told just half the story of an intriguing Cup tie as Stranraer gave the home team an almighty fright.

Just 10 days previously at Stair Park the League One battlers had come within 15 minutes of knocking the Premiership side out before the game finished 2-2.

Last
night they again gave Caley Thistle a shove, this time on a barely playable pitch. With Ross County already a victim of Stephen Aitken’s side in the League Cup, a Highland double was on the menu for the Blues.

And were it not for a sensational late stop from home keeper Dean Brill to deny Stevie Bell, they could have taken this replay all the way.

But in the end Inverness did just enough. The win was Yogi’s first at home in six attempts and got that monkey off his back.

The place in the quarter-finals was finally settled yet the night was almost over before it began.

For the best part of an hour prior to kick-off referee Alan Muir wasn’t sure whether to give the go-ahead.

With
a hard frost in Inverness on Monday night having been followed by teeming rain throughout yesterday, the whistler was met by a pudding pitch and had a look at 6.30pm.

With
mud-caked soggy areas littering half the surface, groundstaff headed out like a lynch mob with pitch forks. And wheelbarrows full of sand.

SNS Group

Stranraer's Mark Docherty, left, brings down Aaron Doran

Shovel-loads
were launched on to the park in an attempt to convince the ref but, having first given a tentative thumbs up, Muir and his assistants were back out just before 7pm for a second check. At that stage the goal frames were not even in place and, in truth, the pitch looked barely playable.

But despite the ball sticking and not bouncing or rolling properly in the badly-affected areas, the green light was given.

Even at that point there were nervous glances as the floodlights went off seconds later.

Mercifully, the problem was quickly rectified and with Stranraer having already made one half of the 510-mile round trip after players took time off work, it was a relief for the League One side and their far-travelled band of fans to overcome
the issues and get it on.

Nevertheless,
by the time the players had gone through their warm-up in the incessant
drizzle both ends of the park were a state.

Such conditions are prime for giantkilling acts and Aitken’s team fancied it, especially after having pushed the Premiership side all the way at Stair Park.

Yet,
less than four minutes had elapsed last night when their plans went astray. If that wasn’t bad enough, the goal was a freak.

Full-back
Scott Robertson looked to have covered his centre-backs well as he got to James Vincent’s through pass before Nick Ross.

Bizarrely, however, his sliding clearance cannoned against the advancing midfielder and ricocheted back into the net.

Aitken looked stunned. He could not have imagined a worse opening and the next job was to dig in and ensure the tie did not run away from his team. Looking at the chance count, you’d say they hung on until the interval.

Greg
Tansey and Graeme Shinnie had shots blocked by away keeper David Mitchell while Ross Draper had a header saved by the Stranraer No.1.

Ross
embarked on a solo run before knocking a weak drive into the arms of Mitchell and Billy McKay had shots, one brilliantly saved by the keeper.

Yet the list of opportunities created a slightly false impression of proceedings.

Stranraer
wideman Sean Winter’s mazy run into the box and shot to the near post, which was snatched by Dean Brill, and centre-half Scott Rumsby’s looping
header over may have been their only meaningful efforts on target but not their only contribution.

The Blues refused to panic after the Ross fluke and didn’t shrink. They kept their composure and this tie was
still in the balance at the turnaround.

The second half was a slow burner but
you had to hand it to the teams. Most moves broke down early because they refused to lump it and tried to play, despite the bog.

Stranraer had shown that they could compete. They just needed a cutting edge.

Their
confidence grew with clever movements and periods of possession yet it was all in front of centre-backs Gary Warren and Josh Meekings.

Inverness did get openings and James Vincent had the ball in the net but it was rightly chalked off for an earlier push.

McKay also rifled home and was unlucky to be flagged offside by assistant Alastair Mather.

But Stranraer remained a threat until the end. Hughes chewed his gum furiously and almost choked on it 10 minutes from time when Aitken’s men were denied by a wonder save.

Midfielder Bell’s dipping 35-yarder was destined for the top corner until the keeper leapt to his left to push it clear.

It
broke Stranraer hearts. And sub Doran finally crushed their dream in the final stages when his drive from the edge of the box beat Mitchell.